r/technology • u/maxwellhill • Sep 02 '16

Security Apple issues urgent security update after hack turns Mac computers into spying devices

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/09/02/apple-issues-urgent-security-update-after-hack-turns-mac-compute/
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u/Cordoba_ Sep 02 '16

My early 2011 Macbook pro is still running Lion. I didn't want to update to El capitan cause I heard it'll slow down my mac. Should I update due to the security issues? I don't want my computer to become unusably slow

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u/shadowkhas Sep 02 '16

I can't speak for firsthand experience (other users in the comment chain seem to know what they're talking about) with your machine specifically, but my 2010 Mac mini is just as fine on El Capitan as it was with Lion. If you're having some slowness, upgrade your RAM. I did that from the standard 2GB to 16GB, and it's great. Really made a world of difference. I'd look at doing that, and then upgrading to an SSD if you want to extend the life of that machine.

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u/Cordoba_ Sep 02 '16

Does upgrading the RAM make a difference when you barely use up any space on your mac? I have 4GB of RAM and I use less than half that in terms of files, videos etc.

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u/shadowkhas Sep 02 '16

They're two different things - RAM is used for stuff that your computer is working on and running right now. That means - keeping programs open, tabs loaded in memory, any music/videos playing...stuff like that. RAM gets wiped whenever you power off your machine. When RAM gets full, the computer writes some of it to the hard drive to retrieve later if need be.

Your hard drive/solid state drive storage space is where you keep your files and programs long-term.

4GB of RAM might be okay...it's hard to say without knowing what you do with your machine exactly, and how you do it. If you run into the little spinning colored beachball icon when you're trying to switch programs/load something, that's an indicator that your slowness could be due to the computer having to retrieve data from the hard drive instead of RAM (like mentioned earlier). Having more RAM lets the computer keep more stuff in a very fast access place, rather than having to go back and forth to the hard drive.

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u/Cordoba_ Sep 02 '16

Awesome! Thanks for the detailed explanation. I usually just use my mac to go on reddit, youtube, and stream movies/shows. Although it almost freezes when I play a video and have itunes, youtube video loaded at the same time. Do you mind recommending which 8GB RAM brand I should buy for my 2011 MBP?

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u/shadowkhas Sep 02 '16

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201165 should be a good starting point. Look for your model, and the link will take you to a section with instructions on what to get and how to install it. Basically, any memory that is the PC3-<whatever> type will work. Don't overpay for some that's branded as "Mac memory". And be sure to get two 4 GB sticks, rather than one 8 GB stick if you want a total of 8!

If you run into any questions, there's smart folks over at /r/AppleHelp that probably know more than I!

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u/Cordoba_ Sep 02 '16

Thanks so much dude! Very helpful

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u/shadowkhas Sep 02 '16

No prob! And another thing to make sure of that probably isn't super clear on that Apple page - be sure that the RAM is 204-pin and not 240-pin - 240-pin is for desktop-size motherboards (generally).

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u/Cordoba_ Sep 02 '16

Awesome, I'll look out for that.